After midterms, Democratic hopefuls eye early-voting states

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Democrats pondering 2020 presidential bids after the midterm elections are pivoting from campaigning for other candidates around the nation to refocusing on their own efforts, including moves in early-voting states like South Carolina.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick is set to deliver a keynote address Friday at an Urban League fundraiser in Charleston.

Patrick, Massachusetts’ first black governor, is among the more than two-dozen Democrats whose names are being mentioned as potential White House contenders.

Many of those Democrats, including U.S. Sens. Cory Booker, Kamala Harris and Jeff Merkley, have already begun to visit early-voting states including South Carolina, home to the first-in-the-South primary and the first real opportunity for White House candidates to see how their messages play to a significant population of minority voters.